Reference no: EM133236034
GEORGE WASHINGTON, DISTILLER AND SEVENTH CAREER ENTREPRENEUR
When he stepped off the podium in front of Federal Hall in New York City on March 4, 1797, George Washington was probably thinking not about the presidency he just handed over to John Adams, but about his audacious plan to start a new career to rescue his Virginia farm, Mount Vernon, from bankruptcy. For Washington, farmer, surveyor, soldier, commander, legislator, and president, this new role might be called his seventh career, but it was necessary. Washington had owned a plantation for much of his adult life, and he tried to get back to it between stints as the nation's top general and as president. By the time he could retire to Mount Vernon, he discovered the business was in trouble. The number of people for whom he was responsible had grown from 10 when he inherited the farm to 300 as he left the presidency. Unfortunately, his land-holding size and productivity had not kept pace. He was facing bankruptcy. Knowing this even as he was preparing to end his term, Washington picked up on the idea of a distillery when James Anderson, a Scottish immigrant to Virginia, pitched the idea. Washington had shown himself supportive of inventions, having developed new ways of training mules and preparing wheat for the market. He had even received America's third patent. Anderson's idea made financial sense. Taxes on imported rum were high, and this was putting a crimp in the average American's drinking habits. Back in 1797, the average American was annually drinking 5 gallons of distilled spirits like rum and whiskey (today the average is 1.8 gallons). So there was a ready market. So, working with Anderson, Washington started with two small stills in 1797 making a 110-proof rye whiskey. Production grew in 1799 to 11,000 gallons sold in two versions (50 cents/gallon for regular and $1/gallon for premium whiskey) and to $7,500 profit made, making Washington America's leading distiller. While Anderson could handle the role of running the distillery itself, the business side was in Washington's hands. Unfortunately, he failed to train a successor. Then Washington died on December 14, 1799. The distillery passed into several hands but began a seemingly unstoppable decline and was closed for good in 1814.
CASE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What advantages would George Washington bring to James Andersons idea for a Virginia distillery?
2. Washingtons farm was operating even as he got the distillery off the ground. What kind of problems could that raise for the ex-president?
3. At his death, Washingtons distillery was the largest in the United States. Did this make Washington a high-growth entrepreneur or a small business owner? Why?